Three years after a Gothamist series unearthed claims of false arrests and rampant police corruption in Mount Vernon, Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah is asking the court system to dismiss 26 convictions.
According to a new report published by Rocah’s office, the Conviction Review Unit found “discrepancies, inconsistencies and contradictions” in police reports about the drug sales purportedly observed during the operation. In many cases, the DA’s report continued, the prosecution’s files had “either no corroboration, or no sufficiently reliable corroboration” of the alleged transactions.
“This inadvertently created a situation in which material and potentially exculpatory information learned in the case was not disclosed to defense attorneys in other operation cases,” the district attorney’s report noted. “In certain instances, the prosecutors did not come into possession of all of the reports that were directly related to their operation cases during the pendency of the case, and, therefore, those reports were never provided to the defense.
In response to this disclosure breakdown, upon taking office, Rocah implemented a “vertical” prosecution system, allowing individual assistant DAs to keep cases from start to finish, curbing the likelihood of key information getting lost during case handoffs.
Norge Siste Nytt, Norge Overskrifter
Similar News:Du kan også lese nyheter som ligner på denne som vi har samlet inn fra andre nyhetskilder.
Fire ravages through Mount Vernon building, good Samaritan alerts residents insideThe man who ran into the building, Ryen Woollery, says he was coming home from work when he saw heavy smoke and fire.
Les mer »
93-year-old educator in Westchester County celebrated for decades of hard workThe 93-year-old says she knows she's needed and God has given her the grace to continue.
Les mer »
93-year-old school principal in Westchester County celebrated for decades of hard workThe 93-year-old says she knows she's needed and God has given her the grace to continue.
Les mer »
As sport's popularity grows, Vernon Township is building a cricket pitch in Buffalo GroveIn a nod to the sport's growing popularity in the Northwest suburbs, Vernon Township plans build a cricket pitch this spring, with the goal opening it for play by midsummer.
Les mer »
Illinois State Police trooper wounded, man dead after exchange of gunfire on I-64An Illinois State Police trooper was wounded and a man is dead after an exchange of gunfire in Mount Vernon Tuesday morning.
Les mer »